Markets Beloved by Pundits Are Run by 20-Somethings Looking for Drugs and Hookers

Paul Krugman and Digbyboth highlight a blog comment on a thread about the Irish economy that's making rounds today because of its insight into what exactly the hallowed financial "markets" entail--people in offices making decisions and speculations. And they're young and wealthy speculators, at that.

The markets want money for cocaine and prostitutes. I am deadly serious.

Most people don’t realize that “the markets” are in reality 22-27 year old business school graduates, furiously concocting chaotic trading strategies on excel sheets and reporting to bosses perhaps 5 years senior to them. In addition, they generally possess the mentality and probably intelligence of junior cycle secondary school students. Without knowledge of these basic facts, nothing about the markets makes any sense—and with knowledge, everything does.

While Krugman, with his tongue only partly in his cheek, points out that this commenter's proposal to fix Ireland's economy---"bribe senior ratings agencies owners and officials to give the country a better rating" --makes as much sense as many proposed solutions to the economic crisis, digby connects the idea to this morning's column from David Broder announcing that another war would boost the economy by stimulating markets.

"Markets, like corporations, are just organizing concepts for human activity," she writes. "Putting any faith in their "wisdom" is nothing more than primitive magical thinking."